Serendipity
by BonneyQ
Summary: When a tragedy results in Gray Fullbuster with the custody of his five-year-old niece, Gray doesn't know what to do until a certain blue haired woman step up to help him go through it. [Gruvia l AU]
1. Part I

**AN:** I am back! It's been a while, but I am here again, guys! I missed you!

I dedicate this story to **esthellar** (whose birthday was yesterday and I couldn't give her anything) and **yuuba** (who probably moved on and remarried ~cries~)

**#**

**Serendipity**

_The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way_

**#**

Gray didn't really remember much about the funeral, only pieces of it. He remembered people – her friends, faces not really clear – shaking his hand and telling their condolences, someone grabbing his hand and, of course, he remembered holding the weeping child as close to him as he could.

How he arrived back to the house was a mystery as well – but when he finally came to, he was sitting at the couch, with Meredy in his arms.

As he looked down to her – his niece – he imagined what he would do with her now that Ultear was gone. Meredy was only five, Ultear had adopted the pink haired girl when she was just a baby and became a mother; and from the moment the little girl became part of their family, he only saw her and Ultear about two times a year, any other communication had been through phone and skype.

Now he wished he visited more.

Two days before, Ultear had suffered a car accident and didn't make it. Luckily Meredy wasn't harmed beside the little cut on her forehead and when she saw Gray, the girl clung herself to him as if her life depended of it – thankfully she reminded him from the skype calls made every week.

"Gray-sama…" Gray felt someone touch his shoulder and looked up, blinking a few times and he was glad that Juvia had offered to come with him even when he told her not to – it was nice to have a friend with him at that time – he could see that she had shed a few tears herself by the way her eyes were puffy and there was an older man with her – a man he never saw before – and she was quick in introducing him. "This is Kisuke Harrison, he is -_was_- Ultear-san's attorney. He wants to speak with you." The blunette said gently, staring pointedly at Meredy and Gray looked down to the kid, who was nestled against his chest. "Juvia can bathe and feed her while you two talk, how about it?" Gray that Juvia was right, Meredy needed to eat something and he couldn't very well just hold her hostage.

"Meredy." He said with a rough voice and the girl looked up to him with the beautiful emerald eyes and he tried his best to offer her a smile, small as it was. "Go with Juvia, she will give you something to eat."

"Don't wanna." She mumbled, hiding her face on his chest once more and Gray looked up to Juvia, who just sat by his side on the couch.

"Hey, Meredy." The blunette touched Meredy's back and the girl hid her face even more. "Do you remember me? I was at your birthday a couple of months ago." Juvia smiled when Meredy finally moved a little so she could watch her with one eye while the other half of her face was still hidden. "We had a tea party, remember?" Hesitantly, Meredy nodded, which earned a smile from Juvia. "There you go. I bet you are hungry, aren't you? It's been a long day and I know you don't want to leave your uncle alone but he will be alright. You and I can make him something to eat too and you can bring to him; maybe you can even help me by watching if he eats it all. He can be very stubborn but I think that he will eat for _you_." Juvia fake whispered and Gray couldn't help but to roll his eyes when Meredy giggled softly.

"Can I have ice cream?" Meredy asked.

Juvia pretended to think about it for a moment. "After you eat something; how about that?" She offered her hand to the girl.

"Okay." Meredy nodded and got away from Gray's lap and accepted Juvia's hand, following the older woman towards the kitchen and Gray passed a hand though his hair and then stared at the man standing in front of him, waving towards a chair so he could sit.

"Thank you." Mr. Harrison said and Gray took in his appearance; about fifty if he had to guess, quite fat, small dark eyes that reminded him of a pig's and a nose that was so slender that it looked like a beak, making him look quite a unique character with the combination of those features plus the small mouth and double chin. "I am sorry to come and talk to you today, but I thought that it would be best if we got some essentials straight so you can organize your stay here better." Gray sighed and nodded. "As Miss Lockser informed you, my name is Kisuke Harrison and I am Miss Milkovich's lawyer. Both of them, actually." The older man offered a hand and Gray shook it.

"Gray Fullbuster." He frowned. "What do you mean by both of them?"

"Well," Mr. Harrison grabbed his briefcase and opened as he spoke, "Miss Ultear met with me a year after she adopted Miss Meredy, so she could have her bases covered just in case something happened to her while Meredy was still too young. I set it all up as per request." The man took a folder from inside his briefcase and offered it to Gray. "A couple of weeks later, Miss Ultear returned to my office and everything was official in no time and put on her updated will." Gray grabbed the folder with curiosity and opened it. "Miss Ultear, of course, left everything she owned to her daughter: a good amount of money, shares in some companies, her car and this house; so Meredy will have a life free of worrying about her finances." Gray nodded, reading the paper Harrison gave him.

"Good."

Harrison nodded. "Miss Ultear also pointed me as Meredy's attorney in some capacity, such as managing her new shares and general legal advice and well-being. My advice would be for you to sell the house and the car, Mr. Fullbuster. I understand that you have a house of your own back in Magnolia, plus a job."

"Wait, what?" Gray asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The lawyer frowned in confusion. "You have legal guard of Miss Meredy. You signed the forms four years ago, don' you remember?"

Gray's eyes widened as realization of the words' meaning hit him with full force. When Ultear asked him to be Meredy's legal guardian four years ago, he had been halfway through college and even with his partying-all-the-time mind, it seemed reasonable enough for her to be prepared for every eventuality, but Gray never thought that he would ever have to actually take up to his promise of raise his niece.

"I… I do." He suddenly felt his throat get dry. He thought about Meredy, but he didn't think pass the days he would spend at the town.

Harrison stared at him for a moment, measuring him up, before speaking. "Mr. Fullbuster, if you do not agree of being her guardian, you have to say so I can make other arrangements."

"What?" Gray wondered. "What do you mean other arrangements?"

"The back-up person is listed as…" Harrison searched for the name on one of the papers he had on hands "_Lyon Vastia_, but if he can't take care of her either, I will be forced to put her back in the system until a family is found."

Gray's whole stance hardened with the mention of 'the system'. He had been placed in many foster homes when he lost his mother and it had been Ur, Ultear's mother, who had rescued him when he started to go down a bad path when he was ten. He would not let Meredy go to the system when she could get a perfectly not-so-bad home with him in Magnolia.

"There won't be need of that." Gray informed the lawyer. "She'll come to Magnolia with me."

**#**

Once he secured the doors of the house, Gray suddenly felt deadly tired and nauseated. He had eaten the sandwich Meredy and Juvia had made for him a couple of hours before, but it didn't sit well in his stomach. Everywhere he looked, there were pictures of Meredy with Ultear and the whole place was a hurtful reminder that his sister was gone.

When Gray arrived at the Milkovich's household, he was ten and Ultear was seventeen and going through a rebellious phase, resulting on him bonding with his other foster brother, Lyon Vastia – eleven at the time – and when Ultear left home for about five years, Gray's only family had been his mother and brother. Thankfully, Ultear returned home before Ur got sick and they forgave each other and shared memories of a happy family.

For about eighteen months, there had been four of them, living as Ur always wanted and it made Gray feel better with Ur's passing away after spending some quality time with her kids.

After that, he went to college in Magnolia and even if they kept in touch and saw each other as often as they could, the glue that held them together was Ur and they went to look for their own homes.

Gray found home at a place called Fairy Tail, a guild where he started to hang out and met some friends, who turned into family not too long after. For Lyon, home was the cold of the North Pole, literally. After he finished college, Lyon started to work studying the Arctic and would spend his summers on the Pole and the rest of his year studying the results of whatever he found out and also visiting other cold places.

For Ultear, though, she only found home the moment she saw Meredy. She didn't care that she was a very well named businesswoman, or that she could get even more. No, she fell in love with that four-months-old baby and didn't rest until she could bring her home and become a mother.

Gray sighed tiredly and climbed the stairs to see if Juvia was having any trouble handling the five-year-old and he stopped in the middle of the stairs.

Juvia.

She had been after him for more than a year and at first, he had found her annoying and was often very rude about it, but she kept returning to him with those silly big smiles she offered and he couldn't stay mad at her for a long time. Now, though, she had seen and helped him through some shitty stuff life threw at him (like the fact that his missing father had returned from overseas after sixteen years of thinking both his son and his wife were dead, just to find that Gray worked for his company and father and son had quite a fallout) and he could even say that he had started to see her with other eyes.

Honestly, though, she had kept her cool and coordinated most of the service while Gray was in shock. He would have to give her one hell of a 'thank you' for that as soon as he could.

Finishing the steps of the stairs, he went towards Meredy's room and once he heard voices, he frowned, peeking from the halfway closed door and stopping to listen. "I like butterflies." Meredy said, shyly.

"Butterflies are very pretty, just like you." Juvia smiled and nodded while combing the girl's hair. "I like dolphins."

"I like dolphins too." The little girl gave a small smile and Gray watched through the small opening of the door while Juvia eased the girl in a way he wouldn't even know how to begin and once more he was glad she came along with him.

"Now, time for bed." Juvia told her softly; Gray saw Meredy's eyes widen, and he guessed that the blunette saw it too. "Do you want a bedtime story?"

"Please." Meredy's tiny voice almost broke his heart – she probably didn't want to stay alone just yet. Gray saw Juvia cover the girl and join her on the bed not too long after.

He decided to go to the living room and having a drink, because really, the past few days were kind of shitty and he needed some booze.

Twenty minutes later Juvia joined him. She wore a beautiful long sleeved black dress with a turtle neck while her hair in a tight bun, only her bangs free of it. The moment she sat by his side on the couch, she kicked her high heels away and loosened her hair – and Gray could barely blame her, since he had lost his dress shirt and shoes an hour before.

Once she was settled, Gray gave her his glass with whisky, which she gladly accepted. "Thank you." Juvia said and took a generous sip before giving it back to him.

They stayed in silence for a moment before he broke it. "Thank you for coming with me."

"Of course." Juvia put a hand on his thigh. "You know that our friends would've been here if you hadn't asked them to not come, right?"

"Yeah." Gray nodded. "That's exactly why I asked them not to come. Too many people trying to cheer me up." He stared at the ceiling. "I know they support me, but I just wanted a few moments of quiet to just… think." Juvia nodded and was about to get up from the couch ('_Damn, she thought I meant she was bothering me and that I want to be alone now?'_ Gray thought), but he grabbed her by the wrist. "No, you are fine." She stared at her hesitantly before sitting back down.

"Were you able to talk to Lyon-sama?" Juvia wondered.

"I… I can't get him on the phone." Gray said, getting angry with the absence of his brother while he was the one who had to deal with all of that on his own. "The station said that there's a storm going on up there and that the radio is not working and it won't work for a while."

"Gray-sama."

He was starting to get worked up. "He missed it, Juvia. He missed _the funeral of his sister_ and he'll hate himself for it – I know that because I would too." Gray put his drink on the coffee table before getting up. "And then, _I_ will have to tell him and _I_ will have to go through it again. And Meredy, god, she'll have to go through it again and she doesn't deserve that."

"Gray-sama." Juvia tried, but the man ignored her completely.

"Speaking of Meredy, did you know that now I have her guardianship? Me! What do I know about children? I can barely be around Asuka for a few minutes before she starts to cry. I like to party, I like to come home stinking drunk when the day's starting and I like to ride motorcycles the fastest as they come!" Gray started to walk around the living room. "The extra bedrooms I have in my house are a hazard to a child: one is pretty much a deposit for all the shit I don't use but can't get rid of and the other is my makeshift workplace that is so messy I can't find anything there!" He passed a hand over his face. "There's a pool back in my place too. Does she know how to swim? Or to float is she falls in?"

"Gray-sama." Juvia got up and put her hands on his shoulder so he had to stop pacing around and even then he was fussing, so she had to repeat it more forceful. "_Gray-sama_." Surprised, he stopped and stared at her. Tenderly, she put a hand on his cheek. "It's alright, it's just you and me now. You can feel the loss."

It was as if he had been just waiting for her to say those words, because a moment later, all the feelings he had been keeping in check for the past two days were out and running. It was finally real, losing Ultear. Not even seeing her body being lowered to the grave had the effect Juvia's permission to let himself feel bad.

He wouldn't spend another Christmas with Lyon and Ultear exchanging youth stories; he wouldn't be scolded when he forgot to call for more than a week; he wouldn't arrive home with his inbox bursting with baby pictures and videos of Meredy; he wouldn't have to sit through a talk about why he should give a try and have a date with Juvia; he wouldn't have her to drop by unannounced at his place whenever she had work nearby.

He no longer had his sister.

Gray let the tears fall and soon enough – he sobbed and hid his face on the crook of her neck while Juvia held him tight, caressing his hair and whispering kind words and for the life of him, he couldn't remember them but was also unable to let go of her.

After a few minutes, Gray finally stopped with the tears even though now silent, Juvia kept running her hand over his hair in a soothing manner and he decided that he would continue with his uncharacteristic behavior and did not push her away – like he often did – preferring to enjoy the soft pressing of her body to his, her warmth and silent comfort. They had ended up back on the couch and at some point, both lied down and Gray was almost on top of her by the way his body had curled around her.

"I'm such a mess." He said, holding onto her tighter. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Juvia whispered. "Holding it would've been worse."

"I don't know what to do." Gray told her. "I kind of have a kid now and I have no idea of what I'll do."

"Don't worry. No one expects you to be an expert just now." She guaranteed him. "We will all help you. Juvia has some experience with children, she will help out the best she can."

"I'm supposed to do this on my own."

"No, you are not." Juvia said to him softly and Gray finally removed his head from its way on the crook of her neck to stare at her blue eyes. "You have just received news of your sister's passing and you were given a child to raise very much out of the blue. In all honesty, Juvia would've been worried if you _had_ an idea of what to do so soon." She touched his cheek lightly, caressing it. "You'll figure it out, with a little bit of help."

"Yeah." He sighed and leaned towards her touch. Who would've thought from seeing how they met eighteen months before _("God, it had been only eighteen months?"_) that during one of the darkest days of his life she would be so important in keeping him together. She never hid that she had an infatuation with him and at the beginning Gray thought it was annoying, but once he got to know her, she turned out to be a sweet woman who was quite lively and passionate. She was a friend before he knew and now she something he couldn't name it – this new development he discovered _very_ recently – and even if he did have had relationships before, Gray had a feeling that it would be different with Juvia (When his mind began to think that it was a _certainty_ to get involved with her was a mystery to him).

Gray's eyes focused on her lips and even though he had stared at them quite a few times ever since they met, this was the most intimate they had ever been and it made him feel strange – not in a bad way – and, strangely enough, it seemed that every cell of his body was screaming for him to kiss her. If Gray was being close to himself, it was long overdue, really: she never hid the fact that she wanted him and he was quite fond of her in a very different way than his other female friends.

He didn't even realize that he was closing in until Juvia pushed him away. "Gray-sama." She whispered. "Not like this. You are mourning and in pain; you are not thinking straight."

Gray blinked, surprised; rejection was something he never thought it could happen coming from someone who had been trying to seduce him for the past eighteen months. "I-" He cleared his throat and started to get up. "Sorry. I shouldn't have."

The woman got up as well and took a step closer to him. "It's alright; Juvia understands it's a normal physical reaction." Gray frowned with her words. Did she think his desire to kiss her was result of Ultear's death somehow? He opened his mouth to tell her that he actually thought about it even before he lost his sister, when she put a finger on his lips to prevent the man of talking. "Go to bed, you haven't slept in two days. Tomorrow we will be busy."

Gray thought about explaining himself to her, but realized that Juvia went with him in the sole capacity of a friend and during the whole time they were there, she did nothing more than support him and help him out. It had been wrong of him to seek solace with her when he was still grieving. It wasn't fair to either of them. "You are right." He sighed, putting his hands over his eyes. "But I can't sleep in _her_ room, Juvia." Gray said, finally feeling exhaustion wash over him.

Juvia had been right: two days without sleeping. Once he got the phone call giving him the awful news, Gray hadn't stop to rest. The first night he had to arrange his trip to the town, make arrangements for Meredy (Ultear's neighbor spent the night with her at the hospital, where the girl had stayed for observation) and then convinced his friends that he would like to go alone – to which their protests only ended when Juvia said that she would go, even against Gray's wishes and she would keep them informed plus take care of him. He couldn't sleep that night even if he tried. The next day, was the plane travel to the town, meeting with Meredy and taking care of the funeral details. He spent that night at Ultear's couch, wide awake, Juvia sat by his side and, aside from a quick nap between four and five a.m., she kept quiet and stared at the mute TV.

"Juvia understands." The blunette nodded. "But you have to sleep." Juvia took his hand on hers and pulled him gently towards the stairs. "You don't have to sleep in there; the guest bed is big enough for both of us." She looked over her shoulder and added, while walked up the stairs. "Juvia wouldn't feel right to stay there either. I hope you don't mind sharing." Gray shook his head, and he prayed that he didn't look too relieved about not having to sleep alone just yet. He hated to feel that dependent of her, but he knew Juvia understood him. "Go take a shower in the guest room's bathroom and Juvia will go take hers on Meredy's."

The moment he stepped out of the warm shower, Gray was ready to drop and sleep on the floor, but gathered his strength enough to put a pair of sweatpants and half dried his hair before stepping out of the bathroom.

Juvia was already under the covers, talking on her cellphone and Gray raised an eyebrow when he caught the time on the watch on the nightstand. 12:37 a.m. Juvia saw his confusion and mouthed 'Erza-san' making Gray nod and throw the covers aside to tuck himself under them with a sigh. He put his forearm over his eyes and waited for her to finish the conversation.

"…Juvia will tell him. Don't worry, Erza-san." A pause. "I don't know. Two or three more days, perhaps." Another pause. "I'll let you know, okay? Good-night." Juvia ended the call and put her phone on the nightstand by her side. "Erza-san said that you should call her tomorrow, she's worried."

"Hm." Gray groaned.

"You should call your father too." Juvia suggested and Gray moved his arm just enough to uncover one eye. "Juvia knows it's only been seven months ever since you two found each other and things are still new, but he _is_ your father and he would've liked to know about this."

Gray was going to say 'no' by instinct, but instead, chose to change the subject. "Can we talk about this in the morning?"

Her face softened in a second, just like he knew it would. "Of course." Juvia kissed his cheek and Gray's eyes closed with the brief contact. "Good-night, Gray-sama."

"Good-night, Juvia." He whispered and the last thing he remembered before sleep took over him was how close her body was to his – they were not touching, but he could feel the warmth radiating from her body and that comfort was enough to make him fully relax and fall into a dreamless sleep.

**#**

The next couple of days were so busy that Gray would fall on the bed and pretty much pass out by Juvia's side. They took care of Meredy's papers from her current kindergarten school, some other legal details of Ultear's will, found a mover company with a generous price and pretty much packed all the essentials for Meredy to live with Gray.

Meredy spent a lot of time at the neighbor's, playing with her friends while Gray and Juvia sorted things out and when Gray found a box with pictures of him, Ultear, Lyon and Ur from when he was a kid, he couldn't help but to cry again and he was glad his niece hadn't been there to see him cry.

Juvia asked if he was okay once he joined her at the kitchen. Gray just answered: "I found a box of pictures." The blunette didn't push for any other explanation and nodded in understanding. "I finished with Ultear's room." Gray informed Juvia as he leaned on the counter, supporting his weight with his elbows. "Before we leave tomorrow, I'll donate her clothes to a charity. Her jewelry, though, I am taking with me. Meredy might want them in a few years."

"That is true." Juvia agreed while looking at a cabinet under the sink. "Have you packed her computer yet?"

"Yes." The man said. "Once things settle back home, I'll go through it. I know she kept lots of pictures and videos from Meredy and I want to keep those. Maybe I'll print a few so Meredy can have her pictures around."

"She'll like that." Juvia smiled sweetly and looked from over her shoulder before returning her attention back to the cabinet and taking a few bottles of cleaning products from inside. There were boxes everywhere in the kitchen and he could see even more boxes in the living room and Gray felt ashamed that Juvia had worked so much that day while he had been crying inside his sister's room. "She will like living with you, Gray-sama. It might take a little adjusting for both of you, but she loves you and you love her."

"I hope so." Gray sighed and kneeled by her side, helping the blunette with the other bottles. "My dad said that he always wanted grandchildren, but he thought that I would give them the usual way but, and I quote, 'whatever makes me a grandpa, kid'."

Juvia chuckled. "That sounds like Silver-sama."

"It does." Gray scowled. "He asked me to tell you that when he goes to Magnolia next, you better go see him."

"Sure." The blunette shifted her gaze from the bottles to the man next to her. "Juvia likes him."

"Of course you do." Gray rolled his eyes. "Just don't go getting all red and stutter-y when he asks you if you are my woman again." It surprised her as much as it did him that Gray was the one raising the subject. The day he met Silver after almost sixteen years of thinking each other were dead, Silver just assumed that Juvia was 'Gray's woman', in his words, and he was convinced that she was the one for his son. "Juvia, about the night of the funeral…" Gray never had the chance to finish the sentence. Meredy was back from playing and Juvia's focused changed entirely from him to the pink haired girl, urging her to go upstairs and to choose which toys she would bring to Magnolia with her and which ones would wait for the movers.

Gray sighed and closed the cabinet. Maybe it was better not to bring the subject again.

**#**

Meredy had been sad of leaving the house she grew up in and had clung to Gray from the moment they entered the cab all the way to the airport, only letting go of him when he passed her to Juvia so he could organize the suitcases (he had seen Juvia pack the little girl's luggage and she had assured him that she would need all those clothes, blankets and toys for the next few days while the rest of her things traveled across the country) and Meredy promptly hid her face in the crook of the woman's neck while Juvia caressed her hair and whispered kindly to her.

After checking-in, the trio went to eat and Meredy finally perked up when there was the option of getting a toy. While she ate her hamburger and fries, Meredy hummed some song and moved her legs happily as the grown-ups talks; Juvia explained to Gray that eating fast-food shouldn't become a routine and he agreed.

The trip to Magnolia was virtually uneventful. Meredy was excited to travel in an airplane and the adults let her sit by the window and she asked, concerned, if the angels wouldn't get hurt with the plane flying in between the clouds. Gray heard the people from the chairs in front and behind theirs chuckling and he couldn't help but to smile at her concerned words. While Juvia explained to the little girl that angels lived in higher clouds than the ones they would go through, a woman who was passing by to go to her place further behind the plane, also chuckled and commented: "Your daughter is precious."

"She's my niece, actually." Gray answered. "But thank you."

"Sorry, I just assumed." She smiled kindly and went on her way and for the first time he realized that to an outsider, he, Juvia and Meredy looked like a family, traveling in vacation, perhaps.

At that moment, he realized that everyone would think that and somewhere along the way, he wouldn't be Meredy's uncle anymore, he would be her father and it scared the crap out of him.

**#**

Juvia refused to go home first once they got in Magnolia, insisting on going to Gray's house to help settle Meredy before going to her apartment and after a few minutes of arguing, he finally gave up and told her that she could do whatever she wanted, he was going home. Juvia smiled in victory and sat by Meredy's side on the cab to his house, showing the girl some interesting places along the way while Gray sulked from his spot.

Once the cab pulled over his house and they unloaded the suitcases, Gray opened the door to let the girls in while he handled the luggage (Juvia helped after seeing that Meredy was sit on the couch, waiting for them to finish) and once he was finally luggage free, Gray sighed in relief that he was finally home. It seemed that those days back in Ultear's house were an endless nightmare. Back to his house, though, he felt much better.

Unlike the refined taste of his sister's house, Gray's was clearly a very minimalistic styled house: white walls, with just a few paintings hanging, and most of his furniture was mahogany. Not the most fun place for a five-year-old to live. At the moment, with her pink coat, purple skirt and colorful striped long socks, she was the brightest spot of the house.

"Meredy, come on. I'll show you the house." Gray called and the girl walked towards him and he noticed that she was a little shy once again. In an attempt of helping her out, Gray offered a hand and she took it eagerly. Meredy offered him a smile and he smiled back. "I never had a kid in here before, so, you are the _first._"

"Really?" She beamed.

"Yes." Gray nodded. "Your room is a little boring now, but we can work something out before your things arrive, alright?"

"I brought my toys and my movies. I won't be bored." Meredy said decisively.

"Alright, then." He smiled. "Come on." Before leaving the living room, Gray searched for Juvia and saw that she was staring at them with approval. She mouthed 'go ahead' and then turned her attention to one of Meredy's suitcases and Gray's focus returned to his niece and giving her a tour.

**#**

Two hours later, the three had taken most of the things Gray stored at the room that was now Meredy's. Juvia had cleaned just enough so the girl could sleep without sneezing; she also changed the sheets to one she brought from Ultear's house and when Gray asked her about it, the blunette explained to him that it might be better for the little girl if she had something familiar around during the first nights.

After that, Gray ordered pizza as dinner and, while Juvia gave Meredy a bath, he checked with his answering machine; his friends left a few messages and he wrote down the names of the ones who called to remind himself of calling them the next day (even if he was sure that Juvia had been giving them information about most of it). He called his father to tell him that he arrived well home and that Meredy seemed to be fitting in so far, but once Juvia left, he would be on his own. Silver informed him that he would try to take a few days off to go to Magnolia and Gray was glad to see his dad again.

He also tried to call Lyon just to find out that the radio was still down. Gray cursed and sighed. If he would be the one to tell his brother about Ultear, he'd rather do it sooner.

A few minutes later, he heard the doorbell ring and grabbed his wallet to pay the pizza. Once he got inside, the delicious smell made his stomach growl and he didn't even waited for the girls to get a slice. "Meredy! Juvia! Food is here!" Gray yelled and put the pizza on the counter.

Meredy was the one to appear first, wearing pink pajamas with purple stars all over and bunny shaped slippers and he was about to give her a slice when Juvia appeared in the kitchen and reprimanded him. "Gray-sama, she needs a plate or she'll need another bath after she is done." The blunette walked towards the cabinet she knew Gray kept his plates and got three, placing them on the counter. She reached for the silverware, grabbing three forks and two knives. "Come here, sweetheart." She called for the girl.

Once Meredy was seated by the kitchen table, Juvia took a slice of the pizza and started cutting while Gray watched her actions. Once the pizza had been cut in many small pieces, Juvia gave a fork to the girl and put the plate in front of her; Meredy started eating right away.

"You have to cut her food for now." The blunette explained while she got a slice of pizza of her own and put on her own table.

'_Well, who knew?'_ Gray thought _'I would've just given her a slice and waited to see what happened.'_

One more time in four days, he was glad Juvia was there to guide him through the basics just before she was about to leave, telling him how to act once he was alone with his niece. "Before she goes to sleep, remind her to go to the bathroom otherwise she might wet the bed. She will most likely want for you to tell her a story, but you can also put one of her movies and she'll fall asleep in no time; you'll have to be with her, though. She doesn't seem to like to fall asleep on her own." Since Juvia was the one who put Meredy to sleep for the past few days, he took her word for it. "Don't close her door all the way and leave the lights of the hallway on."

"Alright." Gray nodded.

"Oh, also…" Juvia blushed and he frowned.

"What is it?"

"Juvia knows that usually you sleep…" She cleared her throat. "…_unclothed_. Maybe you should stop it for now."

Even feeling self-conscious (everyone knew that Gray liked to stay _free_ while sleeping, but being called on it by a pretty girl inside his house was a bit embarrassing.), Gray managed to ask: "Why?"

"Kids are known for going to their parents' bed once they are scared and this is a new house for her." Juvia explained. "Unless you want to explain to her why boys and girls are different…" She trailed off and Gray caught the drift.

"Sleeping with pants it is." Gray nodded and groaned internally, just realizing that he would probably be the one telling Meredy about the facts of life in a few years.

"I thought so." Juvia chuckled. "She knows how to bathe herself by the way; you'll only need to help her when she needs to wash her hair, any other time you just need to _supervise_ if she's doing it right." Gray groaned in annoyance. Of course the kid still needed supervision, it was just his luck. Well, at least she was potty trained. "Also, you should go to the grocery store and pick up some healthy food. Don't feed her with pizza every day."

"I'll alternate with ice cream days, don't worry." Gray rolled his eyes; really? She thought he would give the kid pizza every day?

"_Really_?" Meredy said, from her spot on the couch where she was watching cartoons and her voice was hopeful.

"No." Both adults informed her and they heard her whine in complaint, making Gray and Juvia smile. Before they could say anything else, a car honked outside and Gray went to check.

"It's your cab." He informed her and Juvia nodded. While Gray grabbed her suitcase, Juvia went to kneel in front of the couch and kissed the pink haired girl and whispered something Gray couldn't hear and Meredy nodded before hugging Juvia.

Juvia stepped away from the couch and went in Gray's direction – he was waiting by the door, suitcase in hand – and when she reached for it, Gray pulled it away. "Meredy, I'm going to take Juvia to the cab, okay? I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay." He heard her say; Gray, then, opened the door for Juvia and the woman stepped outside the house – he followed close behind, leaving the door opened just in case Meredy got scared and wanted to see where he was – and gave the luggage to the waiting cab driver to put it in the trunk.

"I'd like to thank you." Gray said, awkward. He had been thanking her way more than he was used to just those five days alone. "You helped out a lot; I'd probably still be at Ultear's place packing if you weren't there."

"No need to thank Juvia." The blunette shrugged. "You would've done the same."

"Either way, thanks." He said with honesty and Juvia must've heard it, because the next thing he knew, she was tip toeing and kissing his cheek.

"Promise you'll call me if you need anything, no matter the time." Juvia said.

"Fine." Gray agreed, because he knew that it was bound to happen: he had a kid and no real experience.

"Bye, Gray-sama." Juvia stepped away from him and entered the cab. Gray walked towards the passenger window and gave the driver Juvia's address and more than enough money for the run. "Gray-sama…" Juvia was about to protest when he interrupted her by saying his own good-night and telling the cabbie to go.

Gray returned home chuckling with her outrage. He looked to his watch and decided that it was about time to put Meredy in bed, take a shower and finally sleep on his beloved bed.

**#**

Putting Meredy to sleep had been easier than he thought it could be, since she was already fast asleep when he returned inside after putting Juvia in the cab. He waited a few more minutes to make sure that she was really asleep before scooping the sleeping child to his arms and went up the stairs, laying her gently on the bed. He covered Meredy with her pink sheets and sighed. She was so little in that big bed. Meredy's belongings needed to arrive soon so he could take the double bed off of the room and put her kid bed.

The room also needed to be styled for a kid; he would talk to Meredy the next day about what color she wanted on her walls, but since almost everything she owned was pink, he had a wild guess that she was going to choose it.

Gray followed Juvia's instructions and left the door half opened and turned on the light on the hallway. Also, after his shower, he remembered to put on pants (just in case) before going to sleep.

Thank the gods for the small miracles.

Around two in the morning, Gray woke up when a sudden flash of light bothered him enough to pull him away from his pleasant dreams. Once he opened his eyes, he had to blink a few times to get used to the light, but the pink spot in front of him was not easy to mistake.

"Meredy?" His voice was hoarse from sleep. "What is it?"

"Can I sleep here?" She asked in a whisper and Gray noticed that she had turned on his bedside lamp.

"Here? Why?" Gray turned his body so he was lying on his back instead of his stomach.

"Please? Please, please, please, please, pl-"

"Yes!" Gray cut her off. "Yes, you can sleep her- oof" Gray breathed when Meredy climbed the bed and stepped on his stomach on her way of going to the other side. "Oh, god." He moaned in pain, but as soon as Meredy wiggled her way underneath the sheets and curled herself on his side, Gray just sighed and tried to go back to sleep once again; there was no reason for complaining now.

**#**

_You were right. – Gray_

_About what? – J_

_She snuck in my bed last night – Gray_

_Pants or no pants? – J_

_Pants – Gray_

_Dodged a bullet. – J_

_Tell me about it. – Gray_

_Are you guys alright on your own? – J_

_Yes. We are at the supermarket – Gray_

_What do I get for a five-year-old? Snacks and chocolate I know, not this healthy crap. – Gray_

_I'll send you a list of some things you can get, okay? – J_

_Thanks – Gray_

**#**

Twenty minutes later, Gray called Juvia in absolute distress and once she picked up, he asked without even saying 'hello': "Do you even know how many types of juices there are for kids?" Gray said, one hand on the kart and the other holding his niece's hand as he put his phone between his ear and shoulder. "I didn't even know that people drank papaya, banana and kiwi together!"

"_Gray-sama?"_ Juvia sounded confused.

"In your text you said 'juice', but you didn't say which kind to get and there are so many options here… it's driving me crazy." Gray answered. He was in the middle of the aisle, staring at fifty different brands of juice and that was just the beginning of the list.

"_Oh." _The blunette said_. "Are you holding Meredy's hand? Children run off."_

"I know, I lost her for a minute but found her soon after. I'm going to buy her a leash."

Juvia chuckled. "_Don't."_

"Yeah, yeah." Gray said annoyed. "So, the juice? How do I pick?"

"_Let the five-year-old guide you."_

"What?" He frowned.

"_Just ask her what she likes."_ Juvia said and Gray looked suspiciously to the kid before letting go of her hand and asking:

"Meredy, what kind of juice do you like?" The kid walked to Gray's right and grabbed a six pack of little boxes of juices and gave to him.

"These. I like the reds, blues and yellows."

Absolutely surprised, Gray took the six-pack and grabbed three more just in case before talking to the phone again. "I'll be damned, she chose it without hesitation."

"_Just do it again when you get to the jam, cookies and snacks that you should be good."_ The woman replied.

"It's like owning a sniffer dog." Gray said in wonder while staring at the child.

"_Gray-sama!"_ Juvia's laughter made him smile. _"Is there anything else?"_

"Yeah, actually." He cleared his throat. "I was thinking of doing something nice for dinner tomorrow for me and Meredy, something other than pizza and fast food, and I was wondering if you'd like to come. Like a thank you dinner for everything and a future thank you for the things you'll probably help me with."

"_Yes, sure."_ Juvia answered after a moment. _"What time?"_

"Around seven?" Gray wondered.

"_Sounds good."_ She replied and the man nodded.

"Alright. See you later at the Guild?"

"_Of course." _

"Bye, Juvia."

"_Bye, Gray-sama."_

**#**

After grocery shopping – Juvia's tip of asking Meredy what she liked worked out really well – Gray took the girl to meet his friends. He knew that they were concerned about him and it was a good opportunity to introduce Meredy to them, after all, the only one she knew of his friends was Juvia (Lyon had _insisted_ to Ultear that she had to be invited to Meredy's birthday and by the end of his speech, Ultear had been _very_ interested in meeting her).

Meredy was very shy at first, but after introductions and a very generous chocolate Sunday, the girl started to play with the youngest girl on the guild, Wendy, and Asuka, the three-year-old daughter of two other members and Gray had the time to talk to his friends and assure them that he was fine within reason.

Erza was especially concerned with his new role as Meredy's guardian, but Gray informed her that he wasn't going to let the kid go back to the system and the woman understood. She offered help, but before he could help himself, he told her that Juvia was helping out enough so far.

"I see." Erza smirked and Gray could feel his cheeks get warmer. "She's been _helping,_ huh?"

"Shut up." He mumbled but smiled when Meredy came running towards him holding a paper.

"Gray, Gray! Look what I drew!" The pink haired girl showed him the drawing and spoke excitedly. "This is me, this is you, this is Uncle Lyon and this is Mommy in heaven, that's why she's up in the clouds." She pointed at every 'humanoid' form – if he could call them _that _–and Gray felt his eyes sting a bit with the mention of his sister.

"This is very nice, Meredy." Gray managed to say.

"Thank you." She beamed and then looked at the door, smiling even wider. "Juvia!"

Gray looked up to the direction the child was staring and watched as Meredy ran into Juvia's waiting arms – the blunette scooped the girl from the floor and gave her a loud smooch on the girl's cheek.

"Hi there, cherry blossom." Gray heard Juvia say.

"Hi, Juvia." Meredy answered as she hugged the woman.

"What have you been up to today?" Juvia asked kindly.

"My Gray and I went to the market, I got some real yummy food, then we had lunch, then I took a nap and then My Gray brought me here to meet everyone. I played with Wendy and Asuka and drew this!" Meredy almost didn't stop to breathe as the girl pretty much shoved the drawing to her face as she talked excitedly and Juvia chuckled with it. "This is me, this is My Gray, this is my Uncle Lyon and this is Mommy."

"This is very good, Meredy." Juvia informed the girl and walked towards where Gray and Erza were with Meredy on her hip. "I bet Gray-sama would like to put that on the fridge door, don't you, Gray-sama?"

The man raised an eyebrow in question, but nodded. "Sure."

"You should do more drawings." Juvia put the child on the floor.

"Come draw with us!" Meredy pulled Juvia's hand towards where Wendy had Asuka on her lap as the older girl colored something that made the toddler laugh. "Please?"

"Alright." The blunette nodded and threw a smile towards her friends, but before she could leave, Gray called her.

"Are we still, erm… a go for tomorrow?"

Juvia nodded again and let herself get dragged by Meredy. "Seven o'clock."

Gray watched the two walk away and once he turned around to resume his conversation with his friend, Erza was looking at him with a knowing look and a smirk on her lips. "She's helping, alright."

**#**

The next day, Gray took Meredy to the kindergarten she was going starting the next week and he had to hold her hand the entire time but by the end of the tour Meredy was excitedly pointing to the jungle gym and asking him when she was allowed to play.

He couldn't believe how adaptable kids were. Meredy was getting used to living with Gray just fine and, even though the child was a reminder of Ultear, she had something about her that could make him smile and the heartache became less apparent.

Once they returned home after eating lunch out, Gray sat Meredy down and asked what she wanted to do with her room, he had to endure her babble about the many things she would want painted on her wall and Gray could barely keep up with the flow of ideas coming from the five-year-old. After the talk, Gray put some princess movie for her to watch while he started on dinner.

A couple of hours later – with Meredy already bathed – Gray asked the girl to help set the table for the three of them, after all the girl loved to help. When it was his turn to take a bath, he put another movie for his niece and by the time he was dressed, Juvia was knocking on his front door making Meredy run to open it before Gray stopped her.

"Hey, Meredy!" He reprimanded her. "You can't go opening the door by yourself, okay? We don't know who it is, it might be a stranger."

"Oh, okay." The kid frowned and then turned to the door and yelled: "Who is it? Are you a stranger?"

"Good enough, kid." Gray messed Meredy's hair and looked through the peephole just when he heard the soft voice of his friend.

"It's Juvia, sweetheart."

Gray opened the door and took in her appearance; her hair was in a ponytail and she wore a pair of jeans shorts, brown knee-length boots and a simple dark blue top with a white sweater. "At least she won't be opening the door if someone tells her he's a stranger."

"Baby steps." Juvia smiled as she stepped inside the house while Gray closed the door behind her.

"Hi, Juvia." Meredy raised her arms and the woman scooped the child from the ground and kissed her cheek.

"Hi, honey."

"I helped My Gray to fix the table." The girl said proudly.

"Very good!" Juvia beamed at her. "I bet that you did a great job."

"I did, didn't I, Gray?" Meredy looked over her shoulder to where her Uncle was.

"You did." He agreed.

"See!" The girl smiled and Juvia put her on the floor. "Wanna see a movie with me?"

"Not now, kid." Gray was the one to turn her down. "We are going to eat in a few minutes, go wash your hands." Once the girl was out of sight, the grown-ups turned to each other. "Hi."

"Hello." Juvia smiled. "Did you really cook? It smells wonderful."

"I did." He said proudly. "It's just a lasagna my mom taught me and salad."

"Juvia didn't know you could cook."

"Not like _you_, but I do alright." Gray shrugged. It was a known fact to everyone that Juvia was one hell of a cook. "I hope it's okay." He pointed towards the dining room and Juvia followed his lead.

"Of course." Before she could say anything else, though, there was another knock on the door and the couple looked at each other in confusion. "Is there someone else joining us?"

"No." Gray excused himself and went to open the door, and when he did, he was surprised to see his father standing there, a suitcase in hands. "Dad?"

"Hey, kid." Silver answered with a smirk and opening his arms to his son and enveloping him on a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Gray asked, hugging his father back briefly.

"I told you I would come over." Silver frowned when he took a step back from the hug.

"You never said a date." His son pointed out and his father shrugged.

"Well, I'm here now." Silver pushed his son away and entered the house. "I want to meet the kid and…" The older man stopped when he saw Juvia standing by the dining room and his smile widened even more with the sight of the blunette. "Juvia-chan."

"How are you, Silver-sama?" The girl asked with a smile of her own.

"Come here." Just like with his son, he opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace. "I've been fine, dear. How about you? Is my son giving you a hard time?"

"Not at all." Juvia chuckled and when Silver let her go, she tip toed and kissed his cheek. "I'm glad you are here."

"At least _someone_ is." Silver pouted and stared at his son.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Don't be dramatic, dad. I was just surprised, that's all. You can take the bed in Meredy's room and she'll sleep with me. She comes to my bed every day by three a.m. anyway."

"Where's the girl? I brought her a gift!" Silver turned to Juvia with his eyes sparkling in delight. "She will be my first grandchild, you see?" Juvia nodded. "About that, when are _you two_ getting started on those?"

Gray saw Juvia's cheek turn pink and he could feel his own and his ears start to burn as well. "Meredy, come over here. We have a visitor!" Gray, then, narrowed his eyes to his father. "Behave yourself."

Silver chuckled and shook his head lightly. "I love your reaction too much to stop, kid."

Juvia put a hand on the older man's forearm and spoke softly. "Silver-sama, Meredy is still adapting here. We shouldn't say anything to confuse her."

That seemed to make Silver ponder his behavior. "I understand, dear."

Gray groaned in annoyance. "You listen to _her_?"

"You don't have those pretty eyes, son." Silver shrugged; Gray was about to answer when the sound of light, fast footsteps were heard and the next moment, Meredy appeared coming from the living room. The five-year-old stopped on her tracks when she saw the stranger with the two grown-ups.

"Who are you?" Meredy asked, staring at Silver with a cute frown of her own. "You look like My Gray."

"That's because I am Gray's father." Silver said gently to the child before looking to his son and ask in a whisper. "'My Gray'?"

"She calls me that since forever, I was never Uncle Gray, just her Gray." His son shrugged and Silver accepted it for the moment, choosing to focus on the little girl in front of him.

"What is your name, sweetheart?" Even though he already knew, Silver much rather let she present herself.

"I'm Meredy and I am five." She showed him five fingers proudly.

"Really?" Silver looked impressed. "You are a big girl." He offered his hand for her to take. "I am Silver."

Meredy took his hand and said, solemnly: "Nice to meet you." The adults smiled with her politeness.

"Gray told me that his niece was here, so, I brought you something." Silver reached for his suitcase and took a medium-size package from inside, wrapped in a soft pink paper with a blue bow. "I hope you like it."

She took the gift with a 'thank you' and tore the paper down, shrieking when she saw that her gift was a very pretty doll and Silver laughed when the kid threw her arms around his shoulders. "I loved it! Thank you, Silver!"

"You're welcome." The man told her, and then, choosing his words carefully, he kept talking. "You see, Meredy… Now that you are going to live with Gray and I am his dad… Maybe you'd like to call me Grandpa."

"Grandpa?" Meredy pondered. "I had a Grandma once, but she died before I was born. My mom said that my Grandma would've loved me. I never had a grandpa before."

"I can be your Grandpa if you like." Silver offered and Gray hadn't realize that he was holding his breath until he felt Juvia put intertwine his hand with hers in a matter of support; apparently, having his father and his niece working things were a big deal to him.

Meredy took her time thinking, but nodded her approval. "Okay, you can be Grandpa."

Silver's smile could light up a whole town when he heard her answer and reached for the girl, giving her a hug. "Thank you, honey. I'll try to be a good grandpa for you, alright?"

"Okay." Meredy hugged Silver back, squashing her new doll between them. "Now I am hungry, grandpa." She said with a lack of tact that most children had.

"Let's go eat, then, sweetheart." Silver laughed. "I'm guessing that I crashed some kind of dinner date between the three of you."

"Just _dinner_, dad." Gray rolled his eyes and Juvia let go of his hand – he kind of misses it – and reached for the five-year-old.

"Meredy-chan, let's find Silv- I mean, let's find your _Grandpa_ a plate, shall we?" The blunette said, sensing that the men probably wanted a few minutes on their own.

The girl nodded and, with the box with her new doll safely in her arms, Meredy grabbed Juvia's hand and both went towards the kitchen.

"She's a cute kid." Silver said, getting up from his knees and standing by his son's side.

"Yeah." Gray agreed, because really, Meredy was a very beautiful girl with her pink hair, green eyes and fair skin.

"She's gonna be trouble once she starts dating."

"Don't even start; I have enough on my plate without thinking about how much I'll have on my plate in ten years, okay?" Gray moaned in pain.

Silver chuckled and they stayed in silence for a moment. "I'm sorry for your sister, son. I'm sorry I never met her."

"Yeah." Gray sighed.

"Come here." The older man pulled his son into a tight, heartfelt hug and Gray resisted for a moment, but relaxed when he heard his father speaking. "I'm sorry you had to lose so much during your life, kid. I'm sorry I wasn't around when both of your moms passed away and you had to suffer _my_ death as well, but I am here now, okay?" Gray put his arms around his dad and felt his eyes itch. "I am trying to give you space, Gray, but I am here and I am _not_ leaving you for as long as you want me here." Gray, not trusting his voice, just nodded; his face hid on his father's shoulder and it felt good to be consoled a parent after years of holding his emotions.

**#**

Dinner was mostly about Meredy telling Silver about all the things she liked to watch and do and the older man was just as excited about the subject as the child and had his undivided attention on her; it relieved Gray that his dad was so happy about him taking care of his niece.

After eating, it was bedtime for the girl and she insisted her 'Grandpa' read a story to her that night and Silver seemed more than happy to indulge the girl _("It's been almost twenty years since I tucked a kid in!"_, he had said) while Gray and Juvia took care of the dishes (Gray protested, but she argued that he went through all the trouble of cooking, that she could at least help with the cleaning up) and they worked in silence – she washed and he dried.

Once they were done, Gray leaned on the counter and Juvia mimicked him, standing by his side. "Are you okay?" She asked and he sighed – she could read him like an open book. "You always get a little nervous when your father comes to town."

"Good enough." Gray shrugged. "I am getting used to having a dad again. He is nice and he understands that I need time to process all this."

"Yes, but you just lost your sister. You need your dad around." Juvia told him gently. "Promise you won't kick him out in two days just because you are annoyed."

Gray scoffed. "I'd like to see you have him around twenty-four/seven for more than a couple of days without killing him."

"Would you prefer to have him elsewhere? He can stay at my apartment." Juvia asked, serious and Gray gasped. "Juvia has a guest room."

"_Hell no_. That would be a nightmare." He informed the blunette. "Thanks, but no. But I'll try to let him stay here longer, for Meredy's sake as well as mine. He is my dad, after all."

"That's good." Juvia smiled and they were silent once more. "Silver-sama is taking his time putting Meredy-chan to sleep."

"Yesterday she took a while to sleep as well." Gray shrugged and Juvia nodded in understanding. "After I put her to sleep is worse, you know?" He said after a moment and the blunette frowned in confusion. "During these past couple of days, when I'm out and about doing whatever, I don't feel so much about Ultear's death because I am occupying my mind, but after I put Meredy to sleep and I'm alone, I miss her. I haven't even told Lyon yet because the stupid radio is not working up there in the North Pole."

It took Juvia a moment to answer him, but when she did, the blunette stepped in front of Gray to take a better look at him. "It's going to hurt a lot for a while, Gray-sama. It's been less than a week yet and even though you pretend, Juvia knows that your emotions run deeper than anyone else I know. It won't stop hurting, but with time, the pain will be damped." She stopped for a second. "What would Ultear-san like you to do now?"

Gray thought about it for a few moments before answering. "She would like me to take care of Meredy the best I can and she would like me to keep on living and smiling, finding the good moments in life."

"Honor it then." Juvia said decisively. "Take care of Meredy-chan as if she were yours ands _live your life_. It doesn't mean that you'll do everything right, that you'll be happy all the time, but it means that you will _try_ and it will be enough. We are _not _perfect, we make mistakes and we will keep making mistakes until the day we die and what we take to the grave are memories and regrets. I bet that your sister had a lot of regrets: she wanted to see Meredy grow up, she wanted to see you and Lyon-sama more, she wanted to bungee-jump for all we know, but she also had great memories." Juvia sighed. "I bet that she had memories of growing up with Ur-san, you and Lyon-sama. I bet she had memories of meeting Meredy for the first time, her first smile, her first steps, first words… She died young, but she lived her life the best she could and you should honor her memory by doing the same. So, feel her loss, but don't let it hold you back or make you feel alone, because you are not."

He listened to the words in awe as they hit him as how true they were and he was really surprised that Juvia had such a way of helping him out when he needed her to.

With a nod, Gray let her know that he would take her advice in consideration and Juvia offered him one sharp nod as if telling him that her job there was done. "Good. Now, have you decided about what to do with her room?"

Relieved with the change of the subject, Gray started to tell the blunette that Meredy wanted it pink, but couldn't decide what else she wanted on her walls and Juvia came up with a few options that pleased Gray and made him think about something else other than his sister for a while and he was glad to change the subject once again – two emotional conversations were his quota for the day, thank you very much.

A few minutes into the conversation, Juvia started to stare at him with concentration and before he could ask her what the problem was, she stepped closer to him and put her hand on his forehead and then sunk her fingers into his hair and Gray frowned with her boldness.

"Your hair grew a lot; I know that this is the last thing on your mind right now you should trim it a little bit." She said as a matter-of-fact, but Gray gulped and was suddenly feeling self-conscious about himself and he hated feeling this way. "Juvia can take care of it if you want."

"No, thanks." He managed to keep his voice neutral. "I'll go to my barber in a couple of days."

"Don't let him cut it too much." Juvia said.

"I won't."

"N-not that shorter hair would look bad on you. Juvia bets you would keep being handsome either way." Gray raised an eyebrow. "I-I mean… shorter hair couldn't _possibly_ make you ugly." Juvia's cheek was delightfully pink and Gray could feel the familiarity of Juvia being herself returning and it made him happy; she was very entertaining. "Forget Juvia said that." The feeling was gone once again: she never asked him to forget about what she had said before, usually she would just blurt out more compliments to see what would stuck Gray.

"Am I interrupting something?" Silver's voice echoed through the kitchen and Juvia almost jumped to the other side of the room, which Gray thought it was even stranger, after all, she would take any opportunity to stay closer to Gray.

"No. N-Nothing at all, Silver-sama." Juvia said, nervous. "Juvia was just saying good-bye to Gray-sama."

"Are you leaving?" The older man frowned. "It's still early."

"You two need time alone, plus, tomorrow Juvia has to go to work very early." The blunette informed Silver and approached him to give him a quick hug. "Good-bye, Silver-sama."

"Bye, Juvia-chan." Silver barely had time to reciprocate the hug before Juvia stepped away from his embrace. She turned to Gray, then and mumbled a good-bye and a 'call me if you need anything' and was out of the door before Gray could react. "What _the hell_ was that?" Silver asked, confused, when the front door closed and when his son didn't answer right away, he turned to him. "What's wrong, kid?" Gray was deep in thought and his father raised an eyebrow. "What got your panties in a bunch?"

The younger man took a moment to answer. "I get it what is wrong now: she's treating me like a friend. I don't like it."

Silver was confused. "You lost me."

Gray sighed, but explained to his father his conclusion of Juvia's behavior. "Usually she's not like that, any other day she would be eager to stay more time here. I can see that she is really trying to help me just because she wants to help me, but it's been almost a week ever since she let slip the slightest hint of… you know, her usual self. Tonight she slipped and acted all weird about it, not like she usually does."

"And her usual self entitles hitting on you and planning your wedding?" Silver asked.

He pondered. "Pretty much, yeah. Now she's all… _friendly_. It's weird."

"You miss it." His dad smirked and teased him.

"I don't like being treated differently because she thinks I'm traumatized." Gray scowled.

"I can relate to that." Silver nodded. "But you have to understand that you went through a traumatic event. If _you_ were the one chasing after _her_ and her sister died. Would you still drop pick-up lines?"

Gray thought about it for a moment. "_Oh_."

"She still loves you, kid. Don't worry."

Gray scoffed. "I am _not _worried."

"Sure." Silver chuckled. "Juvia-chan is just giving you space, after all, your sister just passed and you have a kid to look out after now." He patted on his son's back. "Now, come on. Let's put some scotch in you so you can bitch more about your girlfriend not giving you the attention you usually get." Gray rolled his eyes and protested about Juvia _not_ being his girlfriend, but went to find the booze anyways; he was in need of some alcohol in his system.

**#**

**AN:** Wow, finally finished this part. This ended up longer than I thought – it's a problem I have – and I'll have to write a second part so we can actually have Gruvia moments. Next chapter we'll have more Silver and Lyon will finally show up! I will write the second part as soon as I can, alright?

Oh, could you tell me some awkward/funny moments you want to see Gray go through with Meredy? I mean, he is a guy who just got a kid… I have some ideas of my own, but I would love to hear yours! Thanks for reading!

10/11/2014 ~ **BonneyQ**


	2. Part II

**AN: **Here's part II! Lots of fluff with a tiny bit of drama (it's really tiny, don't worry). I hope you enjoy!

This chapter is dedicated to **FearIsAnIllusion13**, who left me an amazing PM that made me cry.

#

**Serendipity**

_The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way_

**#**

**Part II**

Three days later, Meredy's room was painted and with furniture for a five-year-old girl much to her absolute delight. Gray and Silver worked together to make it happen by painting the walls pink – surprisingly enough, Silver was very good at drawing and drew some butterflies on the walls which earned him countless kisses all over his face when his granddaughter saw them; they also reassembled the furniture that came from her old bedroom and organized her toys and clothes (that part was Juvia's domain).

Gray's old office turned into a guest room also, since he put the bed from the now Meredy's bedroom there and even if it was a bit cramped, it wasn't too distracting.

It was a sad occurrence having to move a girl's whole life because of her mother's demise, but while painting the room with his dad by his side, helping and joking around, Gray felt a connection with him he thought was long lost. Silver was utterly ridiculous and at some point they started some sort of paint fight that ended up with both of them covered in pink paint. Juvia, who had spent the day distracting Meredy by staying at the pool during the time the men were supposed to be working, couldn't hold back her laughter when she saw them coming out of the house and Meredy followed her cue, naturally.

After explaining that it was his dad who started it, Juvia grabbed her phone and told them that a photograph was needed and, even though Gray protested, Silver just put an arm around his son's arm, smiled and made a 'v' sign with his fingers. Once the photograph was taken, Silver insisted upon Juvia sent him a copy to his own phone and Gray didn't even want to see the masterpiece.

When it was time for Silver to leave, Gray actually felt sad to see his dad go. The other times, he was relieved to have his house to himself once again, his father's presence still too new and unsettling. The day he and Meredy took Silver to the airport, though, Gray knew he would miss his old man.

Meredy cried when Silver kneeled in front of her and told her that he would miss his grandbaby (Gray could swear he saw his father's eyes glistening a little as well) and he told her to take care of Gray and Mrs. Chocolate Rainbow, which turned out to be the doll Silver gave her the day he arrived.

With a final hug, the two men said their good-byes and Silver asked his son to give Juvia a kiss from him and then winked, saying: "Maybe you'll get inspired to do more."

Suddenly his father leaving Magnolia seemed much less grim.

Gray took a sniffing Meredy by her hand and they went to see the planes taking off and he couldn't help but to take a few steps back and take a picture of her waving to the plane Silver took as it flew away.

**#**

The question was innocent enough, Gray thought, but the implication of it was pretty damn heavy for a man who never thought would take care of a little girl for a day of his life.

When the five-year-old stopped eating her cereal and stared at Gray with those pretty green eyes, Gray never thought he would hear the words coming out of her mouth: "What are you going to do with my hair tomorrow?"

Gray frowned in confusion. "As long as it stays on your head, I am not intending on doing anything with it. Why?"

Meredy gasped as if Gray had just offended her. "Tomorrow is my _first_ day at the new school!" She explained. "I have to look real pretty so I can make lots of friends."

"I highly doubt a bunch of five-year-olds will pay attention to your hair, Meredy." Gray scoffed. "I didn't."

"Because you are a boy." Meredy said the word as if it was an insult. "Please, Gray. I want to look pretty tomorrow!"

"The thing is, Meredy, that I have no idea of how to do your hair. I never had to learn that." Gray explained to her the best he could. "Can't you just go with it the way it is?" Meredy shook her head 'no' and the man sighed. "I don't think I can master hairdo in less than a day."

Meredy thought about it for a second and nodded. Gray thought the subject was over until he watched as the girl got up from her chair and walked towards the kitchen counter, reaching for his cellphone. She quickly unblocked it and touched the screen a few times before he asked her what she was doing.

"Calling Juvia." She answered and Gray already regretted showing her how to call a few of his friends in case of an emergency and he was somehow incapacitated to do it himself – better safe than sorry.

"I taught you that in case of an emergency." Gray reminded her and Meredy just smiled at him, earning a roll of his eyes from her uncle.

A few seconds later, Juvia picked up the call and Meredy proceeded to talk to the woman. "Hi, Juvia! Yes, it's me." The girl turned towards Gray slightly. "My Gray is here too, but I want to talk to you." She paused as she heard Juvia's answer from the other side of the line. "Tomorrow is my first day at my new school and My Gray doesn't know how to do my hair." Another pause. "Yes! Come over!" Meredy beamed and Gray groaned in agony; apparently, he was going to spend his Sunday afternoon learning how to do a girl's hair.

Half an hour later when Juvia arrived, she was barely able to hold her laughter upon seeing Gray's hair tied up with many and very colorful hair hands. After her conversation with Juvia by phone, Meredy managed to make Gray sit down on the couch while she tried to show him how she liked her hair and since he was the only one available at the house, Gray agreed (very reluctantly) to let her do it.

He never thought of the fact that five-year-old girls rarely had the coordination skills to do hair.

"You look…" Juvia giggled.

"Shut up." Gray snarled and the blunette giggled even harder.

"Don't worry, Juvia won't tell a soul." She promised.

"You better." He threatened her. "The damn things are stuck! I tried to pull it off, but it's stuck! If I have to cut my hair to get these things off…"

"Calm down." Juvia chuckled. "Go sit down on the couch and Juvia will help you." And she did. After saying greetings to the child, Juvia managed to take the bands off without cutting his hair.

The two hours that followed were filled with tips of how he could do Meredy's hair in a simple but beautiful way and Gray prided himself in knowing that he learned how to properly untangle hair (who knew you had to start from the middle so it hurt less?), pigtails, ponytail and where/when to put accessories.

Braids, however, were a bit of a challenge but after long tries on both Meredy and Juvia's hair, he finally managed the basics.

"Yay! Now that My Gray knows how to braid my hair, he can make me look like Elsa!" The girl exclaimed in excitement, running to the bathroom to see the braid Gray managed to do as Juvia giggled.

"What is an Elsa?" Gray asked in confusion and Juvia grabbed her phone, typing a few words and when she finally found what she was looking for, handed him the device and when Gray saw the braid on the blonde's hair, his first instinct was to shake his head. "No way in hell." He took another peek at the phone. "How does that even work? Nope. Not gonna happen. Let's keep it with the basics: untangle hair, ponytail, pigtails and a braid. That's where I draw the line."

"I know how to do a braid like that, it's not difficult." Juvia shrugged. "Maybe I can do it and show you how."

"Thank you, but no. She lives with me now and here the only rule is that your hair doesn't smell bad." Gray shrugged. "I am making one hell of a compromise by learning those things and it's fancy enough."

"You are doing great, Gray-sama." Juvia informed him softly. "Others would've been struggling even more with everything, yet, here you are, learning about hair just to please your niece. It's adorable."

Gray actually felt his cheeks burn. "This is me avoiding a useless discussion with a five-year-old everyday about why I can't do her hair. I'm not being adorable."

"Whatever you say, Gray-sama."

**#**

Meredy's first days at school proved to be challenging whenever Gray dropped her off: apparently, some children had trouble not to cry when their parents left them and Meredy was one of them.

Gray had to take her inside and hand her to the teacher and even if she cried a little (he found that he hated to leave her crying), he managed to get only fifteen minutes late for work.

The fourth day was the charm; Meredy didn't cry, but he could see her lower lip trembling and Gray kneeled in front of her, giving her backpack and lunchbox. "Do I need to take you to your class?"

She shook her head 'no', bravely. "No. I can go alone. I am a big girl."

His heart broke with her attempt of being strong. "I don't mind taking you, Meredy." She shook her head once more, her pigtails bouncing a bit. "Alright. I'll wait here until I see you get inside, okay? If you change your mind, I'll be here." Meredy hugged her uncle and kissed his cheek. "Have fun and behave. If you can't behave, though, don't get caught." Gray winked, earning a smile from his niece. "Now, go. We will have ice cream later if your teacher tells me you were good today, alright?"

True to his word, Gray waited outside until Meredy was inside – just before she got in, she turned and waved in his direction and he waved right back feeling very proud of her.

Once he got inside the car, his cellphone announced he had a text and he already knew who it was._ How was it today? – J_

_She went in alone and without crying. I promised her ice cream later – Gray_

_Aren't you a proud uncle ;P – J_

_Can't help it if my niece is a brave girl that is trying very hard to overcome her fears – Gray_

_Did you talk with Wendy yet? – J_

_I did. She'll start next Monday. Thanks for giving the idea. – Gray_

Two days earlier Juvia and Gray were talking about how his boss offered him that week to come out of his job early so he could pick up his niece while the situation resolved itself but Gray needed to go back to his usual schedule soon and didn't feel like leaving his niece with just anyone.

Juvia, then, gave Gray the idea of hiring Wendy as Meredy's babysitter. It would work out just fine: the teenager would go from her own school to pick up Meredy, take her home, help with her homework, give the child a snack and then keep a close eye on what she was doing.

Once he propositioned it to Wendy, she agreed quite promptly, telling Gray that she wanted to save some money and the amount he was offering was more than generous, but she needed to talk it over with her mother, Grandine – the woman was happy to let her daughter babysit Meredy and thought it was a nice first job for Wendy, much to Gray's relief.

_Did Meredy like that Wendy will be taking care of her every day? – J_

_At first she was sad I couldn't spend more time with her, but she likes Wendy. It will be fine – Gray_

_Well, if you need an emergency babysitter, you know where to find me – J_

_I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for your help and here you are offering more help – Gray_

_Inviting Juvia to have ice cream with you and Meredy would be thanks enough – J_

Gray actually chuckled with her answer. There she was, that was the Juvia he knew. He typed _'Four p.m. at the ice cream shop by the midtown park – Gray'_ and sent it, receiving an answer just a few seconds later.

_It's a date – J_

He'd rather not think about how his heart beat a little faster once he read her words.

**#**

Meredy spoke quite excitedly about her day at school while the two adults listened and Juvia had to wipe the girl's face three times – Gray had to intervene then, telling his friend that it was easier to just wait for Meredy to be done with her ice cream and clean her face with just one go. "You might be good with how to take care of children, but I have sense."

"I just don't want her to look so dirty." Juvia told him.

Gray scoffed. "Good luck with that. I used to have the ability of getting dirty right after coming out of the shower according to all of my three parents."

"I guess Juvia will have to accept that." She sighed. "She's almost done anyway." Meredy offered the blunette a toothy grin and Juvia smiled back. "You look like a piglet."

Meredy laughed. "I want to be a piglet if they eat ice-cream all day!" Gray chuckled and resumed eating his own ice-cream and he could see that Juvia was holding herself not to clean the child and he wondered why was that.

He had the opportunity half an hour later when the three of them were walking down the park until Meredy asked to go to the playground for a little while and the couple sat down on a bench, watching the girl.

"What's with you and cleaning children all the time?" Gray wondered, eyeing Juvia for a moment and he saw her body tense a bit. He frowned in confusion. "Wow. Sorry. I didn't know it was a touchy subject."

"It's not." Juvia sighed and relaxed a bit. "It just brings memories." She stopped looking to Meredy and gazed to the man by her side. "Juvia was raised in foster care, that's how she met Gajeel-kun. We were eight." Gray nodded; he knew that bit. When she and her scary looking friend joined Fairy Tail, he wondered what their relationship was until they made pretty clear that they were only foster siblings. Any doubt about it was easily clarified when Juvia cleared tried her best to get Gray's attention and Gajeel became involved with another member of the club, Levy McGarden, whom was now expecting a baby to be delivered in the next week. "When we were fifteen, we managed to stay at the same house until we were of age and Juvia was in charge of the younger ones. I had to feed them, help with their homework, send them to school and keep them clean.

"Our foster parents were good enough, they just didn't have the time to spend with us; the only punishments were time-outs and to not watch TV for a certain time, but Juvia had heard so many awful stories about foster homes that she got a little obsessed with making everything perfect to not be sent away to the bad houses." The blunette explained. "I thought I got it under control after we left foster care. Gajeel-kun made sure of it: I used to almost drag him to the shower every time he got home." Juvia chuckled and Gray followed, because he could almost see the annoyed expression on their friend's face, after all, as a mechanic, Gajeel was more dirty than not.

"I understand now." Gray told her, his gaze returning to his niece, who seemed to have found a few playmates. "It makes sense that you were a clean freak. That time I went to your apartment, it was everything so neat. Plus, Meredy's closet when you were done with it, was very well organized."

"Juvia is not a clean freak!" The woman said slightly offended and Gray grinned when Meredy came running towards them.

"Gray! Juvia! I want to go to the swing, come on! Who's gonna push me?" She was excited and Gray was about to get up from the bench to help his niece when his phone started ringing. Meredy grabbed his hand and pulled him up, making Gray fail to see who the caller was.

"Hello?"

"_Gray?"_ The man froze in place. _"It's Lyon. Sorry I missed your calls, the radio was down and I just got the messages you left that you wanted to talk to me."_

"Lyon." Gray turned around and when his eyes met Juvia's, she immediately knew what to do.

"Meredy, sweetheart, I'll go to the swing with you. Gray-sama needs a moment on the phone." The blunette whispered to the girl who nodded in excitement, unable to read the heavy atmosphere. Juvia shoot him a worried look, but Gray's attention had returned to the phone call.

"I…" He gulped. "There's a reason I called you so many times."

"_What is it?"_ Lyon asked and when Gray didn't answer, his tone changed from curiosity to concern. _"Gray. Tell me."_

"I have some bad news, Lyon."

**#**

Returning home was a bit of a challenge to Gray; he was hurting inside once more after telling his brother about Ultear's passing and even so, he couldn't show it because Meredy would be worried.

He could see Juvia's car following his and the rational part of him was annoyed that she thought he couldn't handle himself, but at the same time he was relieved that he would have someone to talk to about Lyon and not be alone for a little while.

Once they were home, Gray told Meredy to play with her dolls for a bit while he heated their dinner and talked to Juvia. The girl agreed and when she disappeared upstairs, Gray let out a heavy sigh and felt Juvia step closer to him without saying a word.

"He thought I was pulling a prank at first." Gray told her with a whisper after some time. "He couldn't believe it, and once he did…" He gulped. "I only witnessed Lyon crying a couple of times; he's one of the toughest guys I know." Juvia rested her head on his shoulder and grabbed his hand, comforting Gray better than if she had said something. "He's coming here in three days, it's the earlier he can get here."

"I'm sorry." The blunette said quietly.

"Not your fault." Gray shrugged and Juvia mistook his action and tensed before stepping away from him, but when she was about to pull her hand away from his, Gray didn't let her. "Don't." When she frowned, he cleared his throat, finding the next words hard to utter. "I…" He breathed. "I don't want to be alone right now."

Juvia's stance changed in a second from tense to relaxed and Gray could see her smile softly before stepping close once more, their hands still intertwined. "Then you won't be alone." She tightened her grip on his hand. "Juvia will stay here as long as you want her to."

"Thank you." He said honestly and Juvia nodded; they stayed in silence for a few minutes before Gray mumbled something about heating their dinner and the blunette went upstairs to coax Meredy to wash her hands.

After dinner, Gray took her niece to take a bath while Juvia did the dishes (she insisted and Gray reluctantly agreed). After Meredy went down the stairs to kiss the woman good-night while her uncle took off all her stuffed animals off the bed, Juvia sat down on the couch, waiting for Gray to put his niece to sleep.

Twenty minutes later he joined her on the couch and Juvia smiled when he sat by her side. "Wanna watch a movie?" Gray asked; clearly not ready to be alone just yet.

"Sure." Juvia nodded and Gray started to look the schedule of some channels until he found one that he thought it was interesting enough, receiving a nod of approval from Juvia.

In all honesty, Gray didn't pay much attention to the plot, more focused in thinking about his behavior for the past two weeks. He was never so needy as he had been and it bothered the hell of off him. Even when Ur passed, he hadn't been in such a need of physical comfort from others, yet, there he was, _'watching'_ a movie with Juvia just because he hated to think about being alone at the moment.

Usually, his first instinct was to be alone, to deal with his emotions by himself and this new way of dealing with grief bothered him a lot. What the hell happened to him?

He only noticed that the movie ended when Juvia stirred by his side, snapping him out of his deep thoughts. He looked in Juvia's direction and caught her yawning, so Gray turned the TV off and got up from the couch, stretching his arms and Juvia did the same.

"Thank you for staying." Gray mumbled when he saw the blunette reach for her purse.

"As long as you want me here, remember?" She answered softly. "Go to bed, Gray-sama. You need to rest. If you need anything, Juvia is just a phone call away."

The man nodded and followed her to the front door. "Text me when you get home so I know you got there without problem."

Juvia nodded and kissed his cheek. "Good night, Gray-sama." She turned and started to walk towards her car.

"Good night, Juvia." He whispered and watched as she drove away.

**#**

_Just got home. - J_

Gray read the text and gripped his phone tight. He should've asked her to stay longer with him, as ridiculous as it sounded, he was feeling rather lonely; during the first days after Ultear died, Juvia had been there to support him and the fact that he was about to watch his brother go through it all made him feel like he shouldn't be alone to not drive himself crazy with overthinking.

_Good. How was the ride? - Gray_

The answer didn't take too long. _It's is a 15 minutes drive, Gray-sama. It was pretty boring. - J_

_A lot can happen in fifteen minutes. – Gray_. He answered, thinking about Ultear's car accident: it only needed a few seconds for her to lose control of her car.

Juvia's answer took longer to arrive and Gray assumed she wouldn't answer him anymore when his phone beeped again.

_That is true. - J_

_Do you want me to call you or should we just keep texting? - J_

_What do you mean? - Gray_

_I think you don't want to sleep just yet and you want some distraction. - J_

Gray groaned once he read the text; why could she read him so well?

_If you want a distraction... What are you wearing? ;) - J_

He couldn't help but to stare at the screen completely dumbstruck before laughing. He should've seen that one coming.

_We are not doing this. - Gray_

_Oh, come on, Gray-sama. Juvia can keep your mind off things if she tells you what she's wearing. Or not wearing. - J_

_I know what you are wearing, Juvia. I saw you twenty minutes ago. - Gray_

_Actually, Juvia is going to take a shower right now... - J_

Gray groaned with the thought of her slowly taking off her clothes to go take a shower and for a moment, he imagined himself stepping in the shower with her and...

Whoah. Hold it there, amigo.

Shaking his head, Gray typed his answer: _This conversation is not gonna happen. - Gray_

_Your loss. Juvia could send you a picture... - J_

_Okay, I'm going to turn off my phone now and go to sleep. - Gray_

_Good night, Gray-sama. - J_

_Thank you for distracting me. - Gray_

_Anytime. ;) - J_

Gray put his phone on his nightstand and went to sleep, knowing full well that his dreams would be filled with a certain blue haired woman instead of nightmares about meeting his brother.

**#**

Three days later, Gray went to get his brother from the airport - without Meredy, who stayed home with Juvia to avoid any dramatics with Lyon's reaction about Ultear - and once he saw the mop of white hair sticking out from the crowd, Gray sighed, bracing himself to what was to come.

Lyon looked as if he hadn't slept in days with those bags under his eyes, messy hair and ruffled clothes. Once Lyon found Gray between the people waiting, Gray could see his shoulders drop in defeat.

Gray stepped closer to his brother wordlessly and the other man did the same, both meeting half-way.

Without saying a word, Lyon dropped his duffel bag on the floor, and before Gray could notice, they were hugging and for once, Gray wasn't against the contact and they stayed a minute that way, consoling each other.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Lyon said, still embracing the younger man.

"I know." Gray answered. "I'm sorry you weren't there too." Lyon sniffled and stepped back. "It was a nice service." Gray said and then shrugged. "I mean, I guess it was, I can't really remember much, just Meredy in my arms and Juvia helping a lot."

Lyon nodded and for the first time in forever, he didn't start swooning over Juvia's name.. "I understand. I am not sure how I got in the first plane I took yesterday either; I was still numb."

"Come on." Gray slapped his brother on the back. "I'll take you to my place so you can rest."

"How about we get wasted instead?" Lyon wondered.

"I thought you would never ask."

**#**

Arriving home slightly drunk and helping his very much drunk brother proved to be quite a challenge to Gray, but he was still sober enough to tell the taxi driver his address and to pull Lyon inside the house.

"I mean, _how_ anyone knows a female penguin? It's not like they wear bows or skirts!" Lyon exclaimed as they stepped inside the house and Gray rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, idiot. They are asleep." Gray tried, but Lyon only laughed as the younger man tried to drag his brother towards the stairs..

"Gray-sama?" He heard Juvia's voice coming from the living room and both men turned to see her; she had been obviously asleep before they arrived, as her face was still sleepy and her clothes were wrinkled - Gray didn't miss the fact that she seemed to be wearing a pair of his thick socks - and he felt guilty for coming back at that hour and a little buzzed.

"Sorry, I..." Gray tried, but Lyon interrupted by yelling gleefully.

"Juvia!" He managed to somehow get free of Gray's grip and the next thing everyone knew, Lyon had the blunette on a tight hug.

Juvia's shock was short lived; she pushed the white haired man slightly. "Hello, Lyon-sama."

"Hi!" Lyon smiled goofily and then ducked in and gave her a big sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Damn, I missed. Just a bit to the side..."

Noticing his brother's intent to give Juvia a kiss on the mouth, Gray stepped in between the two of them and pushed Lyon away: he was not kissing Juvia in front of Gray. Actually, he was not kissing Juvia period. "Okay, let's put you to bed."

"Don't wanna." Lyon whined and tried to squirm away from his brother's grip, but Juvia put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Lyon-sama." The blunette said kindly. "Juvia will help."

The white haired man stopped to try to run from Gray and offered Juvia the stupidest, drunkest grin. "Whatever you want me to do, beautiful." Juvia giggled and stepped in to help, but Gray just gritted his teeth with the interaction. Lyon was pushing his luck: that drunken flirtation had to go.

"I thought you would be asleep by now." Gray told Juvia while they helped Lyon up the stairs - as said man decided to sing his favorite soccer team song. Gray had texted Juvia earlier, telling about his intention to have a drink with his brother and asking if she could stay with Meredy for a few hours. The answer was immediate; she told him not to worry, that she would love to stay with the little girl as long as necessary.

"Juvia was." The blunette answered. "She was on the couch."

"What?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"She said she was on the couch." Lyon told his brother in a slur and then turned to the woman on his other side. "And he says I'm the drunk one!" Juvia smiled widely at that and Gray groaned.

"Go sing a song or whatever, moron." Gray said to Lyon and then turned his attention to Juvia as they reached the top of the stairs. "Why on the couch?"

"Juvia figured Lyon-sama would take the guest room." The woman shrugged. "Where else would Juvia fall asleep?"

"No bed for Juvia-chan? I offer myself as tribute! Sleep with me!" Lyon exclaimed as if it was the best idea in the world and Juvia giggled while Gray rolled his eyes. They finally had reached the guest room and Gray reached for the doorknob, opening the door.

"Really, Juvia, you think I'd let you sleep on the couch?" Gray asked and the woman just shrugged. He decided to talk about it later, since they had finally reached the bed. He signalized Juvia, who moved Lyon's arm from around her shoulders. Gray, then, helped the older man to the bed, to what Lyon just fell on his back with an _oof_. "There you go."

"You could've been gentler." Lyon pouted, his eyes closing.

"I could've also had left you at the bar," Gray turned away from Lyon just to reach for the man's feet to take off his shoes "but as a good brother, I decided to drag your sorry ass back to my house and not let you sleep with the hobos-_what are you doing_?" Gray asked in disbelief, as he had turned around just to see Lyon's shirt unbuttoned and Juvia undoing his pants.

_What the damn hell?_

The woman jumped with his sudden outburst. "We can't let him sleep in these clothes."

"Yes we can. He should be grateful I didn't leave him there." Gray let go of Lyon's foot and turned towards the woman, reaching for her hands, taking them away from his brother's pants. "You don't go taking a man's clothes like that, Juvia!" He hissed, feeling something very akin to jealousy and irritation boiling in his stomach; why couldn't she be freaking normal? "If he saw you do that, it would fuel his dirty dreams for the rest of his life!"

"He's passed out, Gray-sama." Juvia said in disbelief. "Juvia hardly thinks he will remember this."

"You seriously underestimate a man's imagination." He mumbled. "Just..." Gray sighed and waved towards the door. "Let's go to my room. I don't want to wake up the idiot while we are discussing you taking off his pants. We would never hear the end of it. Plus, his bag is at my car, which is at the bar alongside with the keys. We don't have anything to change him to."

Juvia nodded while walking out the room. "I don't know why you are so bothered, Gray-sama. Juvia has seen men in their underwear before. You included."

The man groaned, feeling a migraine arriving. Goddamn, why was his life so complicated? Why couldn't Lyon had fallen over heels for someone else other than his brother's_... Juvia_? Damn it, not even Gray knew what was the best word to call the woman: she was not just a friend, she was not his girlfriend; yet, somehow, she fit in both categories with them never doing anything like kissing before to put her under the _'girlfriend'_ category, and with his very awkward day dreaming about doing some very M-rated things to her, it was difficult for her to _be 'just a friend'_.

Plus the fact that he never made a real move to get her (the almost kiss after the funeral didn't count), but also didn't want anyone else to have her.

Oh, and of course that his father hooted for them to get together, his niece loved her and his late sister plus his brother were also big Juvia fans (Lyon was a bit too much of a fan) and their friends were virtually the same so it wasn't as if he could run away from her.

His life _tired_ him.

Once they were inside his room, Gray closed the door and pulled his shirt away from his body, suddenly wanting to take a shower and to sleep for two years.

Juvia was standing in the middle of the bedroom, staring at him as if she wanted him to keep talking, but he talked too much with his brother that day while drowning his sorrows and his talks with her that evening brought him nothing more than annoyance.

"I'll go take a shower, grab something to wear from my closet. It seems like you already know your way through it." He looked pointedly at her feet, where she wore a pair of his fluffiest socks.

Juvia blushed. "Sorry. Juvia's feet got cold when she went to watch TV on the couch and..."

"It's okay. I don't use most of the socks I've got, anyway. At least this pair is of use to someone." Gray shrugged. "Go pick something to sleep in." He waved towards the general direction of where he kept his clothes.

"Why?" Juvia frowned and Gray frowned right back.

"To sleep." He said as if she was stupid.

"Juvia can go home, Gray-sama." The woman said. "It's a short ride."

"I am not letting you drive half asleep and in the middle of the night." Gray replied with a pointed look that he was not getting a 'no' as an answer. "You are not going to sleep on the couch and surely not with Lyon, no matter how many times he yells he offers himself as tribute." Gray said, annoyed and Juvia giggled, loosing the knot in his stomach a bit.

"He is... very entertaining."

"That's one way of putting it." Gray smiled and went to the bathroom to take his shower, feeling better already.

**#**

The whispered words woke him and even though Gray tried to chase back his sleep - after all, he was wonderfully warm, with his face hidden on something that smelled spectacular, and he seemed to be hugging the softest pillow. So, he'd rather stay just like that instead of awake.

"Can I sleep here?" Gray heard his niece's voice and he was about to answer when his pillow talked and strangely enough, it sounded like Juvia.

"Of course, sweetheart."

Gray froze and opened his eyes, just to be greeted by a bunch of blue hair, where, apparently, he had been burying his face. Also, it seemed that he was wonderfully warm because he was sharing body heat underneath the covers with someone else and that someone else was his friend, Juvia Lockser. And, instead of hugging a pillow like he thought at first, Gray had his arms around the blunette: one underneath her head and the other arm was possessively over her waist (he also noticed that his hand found its way to underneath of the shirt she wore and rested on her naked stomach).

_Oh, shit_.

The other times they shared a bed after Ultear's funeral, each had their own blanket and there was absolutely no touching and Gray certainly didn't cuddle her during the night nor he _groped_ her!

That's it: he was _never_ drinking again.

He felt the bed move and he closed his eyes one again, not wanting to deal with his niece or Juvia at the moment.

"Can I sleep in the middle?" Meredy asked with a whisper.

Juvia was in silence for a moment. "Your uncle is asleep and if we move, he can wake up. How about you sleep here with me instead?" The woman asked quietly and Gray could feel her move a bit. "You sleep with your Gray every night."

"I never slept with my Juvia before." Meredy said and Gray couldn't help but to feel his heart beat a tad faster with how natural it all felt, to have her in his arms, the girl using the same 'My' treatment with Juvia she used with him and with Meredy joining them on the bed.

"Come on, then, sweetheart." Juvia said and Gray could almost hear the smile in her voice.

Gray felt Meredy move around until she was in her preferred position and when he opened his eyes, he saw the girl put an arm around Juvia's neck and reach for her hair (if the woman was uncomfortable with both him and Meredy using her as their personal pillow, she didn't show).

"Why are you sleeping here with My Gray?" Meredy asked after a moment and by the way her voice was muffled, Gray assumed the girl had buried her face on Juvia's neck.

"Because he asked me to."

"Oh." Meredy stayed in silence for a few seconds. "Like back in my other house?"

"Yes." Juvia answered and Gray bit his lip – he thought the little girl didn't know they shared a bed back then or that she didn't care.

"Is he sad? He was sad when we were there."

"A little bit, honey." Juvia whispered. "Your Uncle Lyon arrived today and your Uncle Gray had to tell him all about what happened to your Mom. But I bet that once both of them see you in the morning and if you give them a tight hug and a big kiss, they will be feeling a lot better."

"Really?" Meredy asked in wonder.

"Of course." Juvia laughed quietly. "Do you know when you had a bruise, so your mother kissed it and you felt better?" Gray assumed his niece nodded. "That's because kisses have magical powers when you love someone a lot." Juvia said. "And since I know you love both of your uncles, when you kiss them tomorrow, the magic's gonna work."

"I'll try the magic tomorrow, Juvia!" Meredy said loudly.

"Shhh." Juvia giggled. "If you wake your uncle up there won't be magic to cure his crankiness." The little girl laughed and Gray couldn't help but to smile at the sound of the girls on his bed. "Now, close your eyes and go to sleep, sweetheart."

A few moments of silence and then Meredy's sleepy voice echoed once again: "Sing a song?"

"Alright." Juvia answered and then she started to hum a soft tune and if Gray had to guess, she was mostly like caressing Meredy's hair or back to urge the girl to sleep.

Gray could feel sleep sneaking in once again as her soft voice coaxed him to try to get as closer to her as he could by tightening of his arm on her waist and his hand wondered up until he rested it between her breasts - and even though it could be seen as something sexual, Gray wasn't feeling that way that moment; all he wanted was to feel her heartbeat underneath his fingertips (she stiffened for a bit when she felt his hand and her heart raced, much to his delight, but when he didn't move it further, she relaxed in his arms once again) because that ridiculous amazing woman was so unique that he just wanted to make sure she was there, because really, who would have stayed around his cranky ass all this time without giving up? The same person who comes from god-knows-where on a Sunday to teach him how to braid hair just because a five-year-old called.

Oh, and of course she would tell his niece about magical kisses that could heal wounds with love at 3:46 in the morning so the girl could make him and Lyon feel better about the whole situation the next day.

Stupid _special_ woman.

Juvia was making very hard not to have strong feelings for her. _Very, very hard_.

When a tiny voice inside his head whispered "_too late",_ Gray's response was to focus on the heartbeat underneath his hand and the soft tune, welcoming sleep like never before.

**#**

The second time he woke up, Gray was alone in his bed and he felt kind of sad with the lack of Juvia and Meredy there.

He groaned in annoyance and hid his face on the pillow, which was a mistake because it had Juvia's smell all over it and he breathed in the scent. "Fuck." He whispered. "I'm turning into such a girl. I can even braid hair now. It serves me right."

Gray got up from the bed and searched for his pants, since he slept only in his underwear, and once he had it on, he decided to go downstairs to see what his guests and niece were up to (hopefully Lyon would still be asleep and not making a fool of himself without Gray to try to minimize the damage).

Once he was downstairs, Gray heard the TV on in the living room and by the way the voices were high-pitched, he assumed his niece was watching cartoons. Hearing a noise coming from the kitchen, Gray yawned and walked there only to stop on his tracks with the sight that waited for him.

Juvia was wearing one of his dress shirts that were long enough to reach the middle of her thighs normally, but not when she was trying to reach a high shelf at his kitchen.

Suddenly the room seemed hotter and all the things he failed to notice while his mind was fogged with sleep, the very intimate way he held her that night, was suddenly washing over him: her heartbeat getting faster as his hand caressed its way up to between the valley of her breasts, her skin warm and soft; plus the way her bottom fit perfectly on his groin.

And apparently, wearing one of his boxers that night wouldn't do, because she clearly foregone them as he could clearly see her lacy fancy and very tasteful white underwear.

Gray, since he was a man with blood in his veins, took a few seconds to watch the scene in front of him before clearing his throat. "Good morning."

Juvia looked over her shoulder with a grin. "Good morning, Gray-sama!"

"What do you want from that shelf?" He stepped closer to where she stood.

"The blender." She said and Gray stood behind her to get it and once he did, he gave it to her. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you." Juvia grinned and he realized how close they stood and during the day he wasn't ready to have her so close because of all the implications the action would have, especially after the night before.

Gray cleared his throat and took a step behind. "You should change. Lyon will be up soon and I'd rather not give him anymore ammo for his craziness."

Juvia nodded and asked him to look the eggs before going up to his room to change and when she returned already dressed with her own clothes, Gray had already put the eggs on the plates and was reaching for the orange juice.

"Will we wait for Lyon-sama?"

Gray snorted. "He will be so hangover today that I highly doubt he will eat."

She shrugged and went to fetch Meredy, who ran towards her uncle in her pink with colorful stars pj's and Mrs. Chocolate Rainbow in hands and Gray scooped her from the ground. "Good morning." He said to the girl.

"Good morning." Meredy threw her arms around him in a hug and then gave him a sound kiss on his cheek. She looked so hopeful about her _'magical kiss'_ that he couldn't bring himself to disappoint her.

"How did you know that I need a hug and a kiss this morning?" Gray asked with fake surprise and awe. "I feel _great_ now!" His answer made Meredy look over her shoulder with a grin.

"_It works_!" The girl exclaimed.

"Yeah..." Juvia smiled and then stared at Gray with a frown while the man pretended he didn't notice and paid attention to his niece.

Gray knew that Juvia was thinking how he knew exactly what to say and do when Meredy kissed him. He could see the moment she thought about him being awake during her talk with the girl because she turned an interesting shade of red, before shaking her head in a dismissive way, after all, Gray wouldn't do what he had done unless he was fast asleep.

If only she knew.

**#**

"Argh, who turned on the Sun and who thought food in the morning was a good idea?" Lyon mumbled as soon as he stepped inside the kitchen looking like hell while Gray and Juvia did the dishes. "Good morning, Juvia-chan. I know that there's a line about you shining brighter than the Sun this morning somewhere in my brain, but my head is killing me." Lyon sighed.

"Message received either way, Lyon-sama." Juvia chuckled and stepped closer to the man. "Juvia saw you yesterday, but you were pretty out of it, but it's nice seeing you."

"You too." Lyon said softly and Gray watched as she reached the white haired man and hugged him. Lyon looked surprised for a moment and even Gray didn't see it coming.

"I'm sorry for your loss." The blunette whispered and Gray saw his brother relax in the woman's embrace before hugging her back.

"Thank you for being there when I couldn't." Lyon said quietly to her and Gray could feel his eyes burn with the emotion he heard from the other man's voice.

"Of course." Juvia kissed his cheek. "If you need anything, anything _at all_, tell Juvia."

"Well, now that we are at the subject..." Lyon said smugly and suddenly all the emotion of the moment was gone when he pulled her closer to him by the waist and Gray found himself untangling his brother and his... _Juvia_ before he could think about it.

"Meredy, your Uncle Lyon is awake!" Gray yelled, while pushing Juvia behind him and Lyon winced in pain. "She will give you a hug and a kiss; she thinks it's magical to make you feel not sad. Go along with it or I'll _kick your as_s."

"Magical kisses are very good, or so I've heard but it is for everything else other than hangovers. Can someone please give me some medicine?" Lyon whined when they heard tiny feet hitting the ground. "Unless _you_ want to give one of those magical kisses, Juvia-chan?" He winked but before Gray could say anything else or to punch his brother, their niece came inside shrieking in happiness and the painful look on Lyon's face with the noise was revenge enough for Gray.

**#**

"How's your hangover?" Gray asked while he sat on the porch in front of his house where his brother also sat on the steps, looking up to the stars.

"I've been worse." Lyon chuckled and accepted the beer Gray offered. "The best thing to get over a hangover is to keep drinking, huh?"

"Amen to that." Gray chuckled.

"Where's Meredy?" Lyon asked after a moment's silence.

"Fed, bathed and watching _Peppa_." Gray said after taking a long sip of his beer.

"_Peppa_?" Lyon asked confused.

"Talking pig, has talking animals as friends. It's pretty ridiculous, but she likes it." He shrugged.

"It's been two weeks and you already know cartoons' names?" Lyon teased.

"I had to watch it one morning; I kept the name to not make the same mistake again." Gray chuckled and Lyon joined him and then they stayed in silence once again.

"You are doing a great job with her, Gray." Lyon said truthfully. "All she talked about today was the things you've done together so far... She is happy."

"I have no idea of what I am doing most of the time and if hadn't been for Juvia, I would have most likely killed her that first week I had her."

"You wouldn't." Lyon chuckled. "Either way, I'm glad she was with you so we didn't' find out how skilled with children you are without supervision." Gray glared at his brother, who just laughed. "What's going on with you two by the way? She sleeps here now?"

"It's complicated." Gray sighed and rested his back on the handrail.

"Every time I come here I ask you if something is happening between you two and you always say _'no'_." Lyon said. "If I asked you again, would your answer be the same?"

Gray thought about all that happened ever since he saw his brother last and how he was slowly coming to realize that he needed her more and more each day.

"The answer would be very different." Gray closed his eyes and groaned in annoyance. "Why are we discussing this?"

"Because you are my brother and even though you and I want the same woman, I want you to be happy and I think she's it for you and you are just realizing it." Lyon shrugged and Gray blushed. "I never got a chance, Gray." Lyon said honestly. "I'll try forever because one day the Universe may reward my persistence, but when it comes to love, you two are it." He shrugged. "I wish all the best for both of you, you know?"

"You sound like we are getting married next month, not Natsu and Lucy." Gray mumbled, his cheeks warmer and when Lyon offered his brother a knowing smile, Gray almost chocked on air. "Shut up."

Lyon chuckled and both returned their gazed back to the sky for a few minutes before Lyon broke it. "I'm not returning to the Pole. I'm asking to be put on desk duty, research or whatever."

"What? _Why_?" Gray asked, more than surprised. "You love your job!"

"And I also lost my sister's funeral. I only knew she was dead two weeks after it happened and if you weren't there, my niece would've stayed in a foster home, alone and scared until someone got hold of me in the Pole." Lyon shrugged. "I don't want to go through this again."

"Lyon, look... _We_ are fine. You can go to your job and..."

"_You_ might be fine, Gray, but _I_ am not." Lyon got up from the steps, startling his brother. "Can't you see that you and Meredy are the _only family I have left_? You found your dad again, you and Juvia will be popping babies in a couple of years and you have a lot of friends, but I don't have that support. For me it's just you and Meredy." Gray was surprised with his brother's outburst; he had no idea Lyon felt that way. "I want what you have: I want my family, friends and a woman to love because trust me, there's not much action back on the Pole: most scientists are men and the women are married and not willing to cheat on their husbands. And I even met a woman who was _also_ looking for a woman, so the competition is pretty tough." Gray snorted and Lyon relaxed his body and sat once more. "I need to grow some roots and I thought about moving here, but you and me on the same town for more than a few days? The world doesn't need another war." Gray chuckled and Lyon grinned. "I think that a two hour drive between us is good enough, right?"

"It'll do." Gray nodded. "You can come visit us." He frowned as some sort of an irrational fear dawned him. "Unless... Unless you want custody of Meredy?"

Lyon got wide eyed. "No. _God, no_. She would get even more confused than she is right now if she moved again! Plus, you've got this. You can be the parent and I'll be the cool uncle and when she's old enough she can go spend weekends and vacations with me." Lyon said and Gray nodded, feeling relieved beyond words that his brother didn't want custody of their niece and he felt weird it out by it. "We can work something out in the future, when I have a house and she wants to visit me."

"Alright, then. You know you can stay here until you get on your feet, right?" Gray asked.

"Thanks, bro." Lyon raised his beer as a salute. "But I'll stay for a couple of days more and then go move on with my life; the sooner I start, the sooner I get settled into it."

"I'll drink to that." Gray raised his own beer and both took a large sip.

"Gray?" Lyon asked after a moment.

"Huh?"

"Was it my imagination or last night Juvia had her hands on my pants?"

Gray shrugged. "I have no idea of what you are talking about."

**#**

**AN:**_ I just have to say that I love how Lyon spice things up. I love that man._

This story had about a thousand percent more feedback than I've ever expected it to be. Not even Omega – _Omega_, the story that had almost the same high number of reviews each chapter – had _**this**_ much feedback and you guys keep amazing me, dontcha? Almost fifty reviews? _If I die of feels, you are totally to blame!_

I took your suggestions for fluffy moments between Gray and Meredy and I'll try to write as many as I can, alright? And next chapter we'll have some Gruvia action. *wink wink*

Oh, and Juvia is absolutely okay with walking around half naked because she does that in the manga (I mean, _**every fight**_ the girls' clothes are torn and they show so much the boys don't even care anymore!). And Meredy talks right just because. LOL

Anyway, the most love felt shout out to: **Anani00, LinkMaster997, Neptu, Phantom's Princess, Guest, muffin-dragon227, njdaphne, Celine-nee-sama, dianaloveanime, gelatinefeels, Agrias-chan, Guest, Guest, LucyBuns, Guest, P. FullbusterBelieve, elixluna, NeverInUrWildestDreams, Guest, otaku03, Guest, sparkles princess, mgaa, KisekiNoSekai, BelieveInYourself7, IcePrinceRay, NudgeThePyro, Valm, MissKonoha, BookProf101, majinbuu00, laefa, Mizu. no. Oujo .1967, IsseyRiot, Guest, goatgod, Guest, TheRedSin, Guest, FearIsAnIllusion13, Guest, , Zstar1, ShuzukaPamela, Anonymus, and Guest**, who reviewed!

Thank you for reading!

11/17/2014 ~ **BonneyQ**


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